RUGBY ace Mark Bennet could be set to swap Scotland for the sun of Brazil.

Former Cumnock star Mark has been included in the training squad for Team GB ahead of this summers Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Scotland and Glasgow Warriors centre has been selected as part of Team GB's rugby sevens 25 man training camp as they prepare for the showcase event.

The sevens squad includes a combination of sevens specialists and 15-a-side players from England, Scotland and Wales.

As part of the 25 man squad Bennett will now exchange his dark blue jersey of Scotland for the red, white and blue of Team GB.

The 25 players will gather on May 30 for a seven-week intensive training period involving a programme of four international competitions.

With sevens included in the Olympics for the first time, Bennett now has the unique opportunity to compete for the 12 places in Team GB which will be announced together with the women's squad on July 19.

Team GB Sevens Head Coach Simon Amor said: "We have watched a significant amount of footage throughout the season of 15-a-side players and every sevens game from England, Scotland and Wales. Exciting talent was available to us and competition for places was tough. We're now really looking forward to bringing this group together as one team and creating an incredible Great Britain spirit.

"One of the main strengths of the players who have been named today is their aggressive style of play in both attack and defence. Looking at how the games are won at the top level at the moment, it is very much about that physicality, teams who are fearless in the way they play.

"For the 15s players aiming to make that transition, recent sevens experience at the top level was important given how much the world of sevens rugby has progressed in the last three to four years. We were also targeting players in certain key positions to add strength in depth and complement the qualities of the specialists we already have."

Bennett, who was nominated for Breakthrough Player of the Year after the Rugby World Cup, represented Scotland Sevens at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and prior to that featured on the World Series in 2013.

As part of Olympic preparations, two GB sevens squads will compete in four tournaments including the Rugby Europe Sevens Series in Moscow, Exeter and Gdynia as well as Sevens and the City at Allianz Park.